SFSU students named winners of contest to find outdated laws — like permits for cows

San Francisco State University students Liana Derus and Karl Nichols will each receive a $1,000 academic scholarship after being chosen by Supervisor Mark Farrell as the winners of a contest to find outdated city laws.

Supervisor Mark Farrell

Farrell announced the contest in April, asking college students to use an open data website to sift through San Francisco city code and propose changes to existing laws. He said students brought more than 30 laws to his attention, ranging from the city’s minimum wage to prohibitions on walking cats on leashes.

“Needless to say, I was impressed with the creativity and interests that the students showed in participating in this initiative,” he said.

On Tuesday, Farrell asked the city attorney to draft legislation to repeal what he said are two outdated laws: One that lets people apply for permits to keep cows on private lots and another that requires all gas stations to provide one restroom for women and a separate bathroom for men.

“I don’t believe there are many cows on any private lots here in San Francisco,” he said. “I’m all for providing bathrooms at gas stations – but requiring at least two separate bathrooms can be costly for some of these small business owners.”

The scholarship competition is part of a larger push by Farrell and other city officials to harness new technologies to drive civic engagement. Also Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors approved legislation by Farrell to repeal another “outdated” law that prohibited the use of garages for anything other than the storage of cars.

On Wednesday, Farrell and leaders from other cities that have embraced “open government” technology will announce the creation of an organization that will help cities across the nation adopt similar initiatives.